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MnDOT Ready For First Twin Cities Snow

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – With the first decent snowfall of the season expected to start Tuesday night, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has been busy getting its equipment ready.

Officials said they are ready for anything Mother Nature throws at us, but Minnesota residents and especially commuters are encouraged to get their winter kits ready if they haven’t already. The average Minnesotan shovels more than nine inches of snowfall during the month of November.

MnDOT officials said they have just recently finished training new hires how to plow. Tons of table salt has been stockpiled. The salt on the road tends to work better the warmer the temperatures are outside. Officials said when temperatures get to be below zero, that can slow the effectiveness of the salt.

The officials at MnDOT said the trucks are on standby in the event the weather changes or we get more snow than predicted.

“We are outfitting some of our trucks with sanders and basically getting them ready to go. Trucks are pretty much ready to go year-round,” said MnDOT Spokesperson Kent Barnard. “It doesn’t take a lot to get them all outfitted. Right now we’re bringing trucks back from Camp Ripley, we have new hires being taught to plow at Camp Ripley.”

At this point, it appears the heaviest snow will fall Tuesday night into Wednesday south and east of the Twin Cities. As many as six inches could fall in those areas, while the Twin Cities is looking at a slightly smaller amount.

MnDOT officials said they want drivers to remember to give the trucks plenty of room to work on the roads and to slow down.

Nina Moini joined the WCCO-TV team in August of 2013. She reports on a wide range of topics during weekdays and weekend nights. Nina grew up right here in Apple Valley (GO Eastview Lightning!), but was born in Denmark to Iranian parents who moved to...